George Guimarães

25 October 2001

Veganism is, above all, a choice for a healthy life, not only from the point of view of health, but also socially and morally. It is healthy for those who practice, is healthy for the environment that is spared the burden of production of food of animal origin and, obviously, is healthy for the animals who are raised and killed for food people.

The benefits of a vegan diet continue to be reported every day in scientific investigations and also by individual experiences. That's because a diet free of animal products is free of cholesterol, low in fat (especially saturated fat) and high in fiber, Vitaminas e Minera, which implies a huge reduction in the risk of diseases such as atherosclerosis, infarct, spillover, diabetes, cancer, constipation, among other chronic and degenerative diseases. With a vegan diet, are also eliminated from the diet contaminated chemicals such as antibiotics, hormones and pesticides. A vegan diet is also usually low in calories, which means better weight control.

There are several reasons for adopting a vegan lifestyle, but even with the many ways in which veganism is expressed, it can be defined as follows: a lifestyle that avoids all forms of exploitation and violence against human animals and non-human, or against the planet.

 

Few who begin on veganism as a matter merely of health, although this is an important aspect of that lifestyle and one of the best arguments in its favor. Already the environmental aspect shows itself to be a strong reason for those who decide to become vegan. Today we know that raising animals for human consumption is a factor of greenhouse gas emissions more important than the transportation sector, in other words, adopt a vegan diet is more beneficial for the environment than leaving the car in the garage. This is because the production of meat products requires a very large amount of natural resources, This includes fossil fuels. Moreover, can produce more vegetarias in the same space when compared with the production of food of animal origin.

However, the largest number of people who embrace veganism is composed of those who feel touched to learn that their food was, until then, dependent on the exploitation and killing of animals who feel pain and fear and has such a will to live and be free as anyone.

The awakening may come in contact with the calf on the site Friend, to learn that in many Asian countries dogs are considered a delicacy and then realize that your pet could be someone's dinner, or the late discovery that your chick pet Childhood (who had grown too much to continue living at home and his mother said he had sent to his uncle's farm) had actually taken your order on a Sunday lunch with family. A visit to a slaughterhouse or a video to show the reality behind that piece of meat packed clean and also may be effective to bring reality to consciousness, as contact with reality always awakens consciousness and awareness always brings us closer to adopting a more adequate moral standpoint.

Imagine for example the confusion of values ​​by which spends a child who has to learn that the ox, the pig and the chicken, animals as docile and kind, the heroes of your favorite movies, are also your dinner. The child can not get out, at first, as your hero or friend ended up in the dinner plate. Maybe she pursues in his fantasy a way "friendly" to become dinner. Maybe they're friends and so kind that they willingly sacrifice themselves to feed his human friend, something that you can accept the child's mind. Situations like these end up distorting values ​​in training the child. After adult, this child follows without question the reality behind his food dish and so we follow blind and complicit in this practice cruel and devoid of values ​​which is the act of feeding of animal parts.

Several studies have demonstrated the relationship between animal violence and human violence. Here is a good example: serial killers have, in 90% Two cases, a history of animal abuse in childhood. Contempt for the life of an animal leads to the loss of respect for human life. Children learn values ​​of compassion and respect through the relationship with animals that nourish. Arouse compassion for animals is a way to awaken compassion for humanity. If animals can be killed to satisfy an individual need, this can lead to child (or society) the conclusion that any life form can also be sacrificed to obtain some benefit individual.

Of course that does not manifest itself widely in society, because there are social rules and behavior to which we learn to obey. Obviously, not everyone grew up eating meat that feel comfortable to kill people or engage in acts of violence, sectarian groups, activities that exploit slave labor or child labor, and many other forms of exploitation and violence against humans that are present in our society. However, the message to the child that is forming these rules through contact with the environment that surrounds it is contemptuous to life, neglect of the sacred. The impact this has on the relationship between families, ideologies, societies, countries, religions is enormous.

Imagine a world free of violence against animals and you will see a world of peace also between humans.